Reclaiming Flow for the Clean Energy Future
Jen serves as Sustainability Catalyst for ATDC, supporting early-stage sustainable innovation companies. With over 15 years of experience, she coaches startups and connects them with the resources they need to thrive.
An inventor, author and featured speaker, she is an expert in innovation strategy and disruptive technologies. She also serves on the Boards of Startup Atlanta and TAG Smart Communities & Sustainability Society.
Emily Morris, CEO & Founder of Emrgy, is an award-winning female entrepreneur that has raised over $30MM in capital to bring Emrgy’s distributed hydropower solution to market. Emily has spent almost 15 years in emerging hard tech development and came to Emrgy from AMT, Inc., where she managed multi-million dollar Federal contracts bringing innovative technologies from ideation to commercialization.
CEO & Founder of The Gaia Box, James Highsmith is leading the charge at a company redefining the relationship between renewable energy and agriculture.
His background includes building consumer bases for multinational brands, focusing on how those brands connected with communities.
Jahn Kahn is the Founder & CEO of 4Earth and Co-founder & President of Twistient, creating technologies for humanity in the next generation. 4Earth is building technology to solve industrial and critical infrastructure water problems and Twistient is building neuromorphic chips for edge AI.
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Previously, he was an MMA fighter, Georgia Tech scientist/research engineer, tech lead and worked on industrial projects around water and energy.
This panel introduced a fresh perspective on hydropower, moving beyond dams to highlight modular systems that tap into overlooked water infrastructure. Moderated by Jennifer Singh of ATDC, the discussion featured innovators from Emrgy, The Gaia Box and 4Earth who are transforming irrigation canals, wastewater lines and indoor farms into decentralized energy solutions. These hard-tech startups are proving that water can quietly but powerfully support a more resilient clean energy transition.
Beyond Big Dams: Tapping Everyday Infrastructure
Traditional hydropower has relied on large-scale dams and regulated rivers, but today’s innovators are finding energy in the systems we already use. Concrete canals, irrigation networks and wastewater systems offer reliable 24/7 water flow without the environmental disruption or permitting delays associated with major hydro projects. One panelist described their approach as “rooftop solar for water,” placing modular turbines into flowing channels that already exist. Their technology, now operating in five U.S. states and abroad, can power eight to ten homes per unit with minimal environmental or physical footprint.
By using existing infrastructure, these startups avoid high upfront costs and long permitting cycles. The shift from megaprojects to modular, factory-built systems dramatically reduces development time and allows for flexible deployment across distributed energy networks.
Modularity, Replicability and Grid Resilience
Rather than focusing on single massive installations, companies are scaling smaller, repeatable units that resemble solar panels or battery packs in their deployment model. One speaker emphasized that their goal is system-wide electrification through replication, enabling local governments, campuses and industries to create resilient off-grid energy loops. Gravity-fed flows power these compact turbines, making them a natural fit for microgrids and distributed systems where flexibility and speed matter most.
This modular approach also means faster adoption in areas underserved by traditional energy infrastructure. From urban water loops to rural pump stations, these systems offer a scalable path to energy resilience in the face of climate instability and growing grid stress.
Circular Innovation in Food and Industry
The energy-water-food nexus was central to several innovations discussed. A standout project in Alabama, expanding into Georgia, uses nutrient-rich water in indoor farms to generate hydropower before recirculating it to crops. This offsets the high energy load of vertical farming—covering lighting, cooling and water movement—while also addressing food insecurity. Already offsetting more than 10 kilowatt-hours per day, the system is being scaled through university and community partnerships in food deserts and rural health centers.
Another panelist highlighted an application reclaiming energy from industrial wastewater. Their technology, currently in use with operations like automotive paint lines, recovers thermal energy and filtered water from waste streams. That reclaimed energy is fed back into the same industrial process, saving money, cutting emissions and relieving stress on public utilities. These innovations turn waste into value and are paving the way for retrofitting legacy infrastructure across sectors like manufacturing and data centers.
Support Gaps and New Frontiers
Despite their impact, hardware startups in water and energy often face tougher conditions than their software counterparts. High manufacturing costs, regulatory complexity and long product development timelines require more patient capital and technical talent. The panelists stressed that the sector needs targeted support through incubators, university research partnerships and long-term engineering internships.
With aging workforces in both energy and water utilities, many of these startups are leveraging automation, AI and human-centered design to attract younger engineers, particularly from leading technical institutions.
Expanding the climate hardware workforce is essential to scaling these solutions at speed.
Looking ahead, urban campuses, hospital microgrids and smart city infrastructure are emerging as major growth markets. In one example, a speaker described efforts to integrate turbines into public infrastructure ahead of the Olympics. In the Southeast, where solar policy is inconsistent, small-scale hydropower offers a reliable clean energy option that avoids many regulatory hurdles.
A Quiet Revolution in Motion
The Water as Energy panel made clear that hydropower’s future lies not in new dams but in reclaiming flow from the everyday systems already around us. These modular technologies represent a practical, low-impact way to power communities, reduce emissions and strengthen infrastructure resilience. With the right investment and policy support, hydropower can evolve into a foundational component of the clean energy economy—one that flows through cities, farms and factories alike.
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